Home Renovation Ideas for Renting out in San Francisco

Just as it requires a lot of research and effort to find an ideal room for rent, almost the same amount of work goes into renting out rooms and finding the perfect renter. Don’t you think so? However, every problem that we encounter also leads us to a feasible and practical solution.

If you own a house or an apartment that you’d like to use to provide rooms to rent in San Francisco, you’ll need to think about whether it’s crucial to renovate it so that your renters have a more than satisfactory experience while living in it. Renovation or not, a brilliant roommate finder, can help you post details of your home if you’re looking to rent out rooms in San Francisco to renters. If you believe that your home needs overall renovation or parts of it do, then ask yourself what’s driving you to go through with it:

If the intent is just to refurbish or modernize it, there’ll be fewer issues to deal with.
If you wish to sell your home and want to renovate it to enhance its market value, you’ll need to mull over what upgrades are essential and the timeframe to complete them. Critical issues that are likely to be highlighted by an inspector need to be prioritized and fixed.
If you intend to turn it into a profitable rental property and rent out rooms in San Francisco, you may not need to spend much money unless there’s a leak in the roof or it’s not safe any longer.

Before you rent out rooms in San Francisco, follow some renovation guidelines. Source: Unsplash

It’s also important to consider which rooms need renovation. Primarily, kitchens and bathrooms are key areas in the house. Kitchens are the hub of activities like cooking multiple meals a day, washing dishes, and even having events during summer months, which bring many guests into the house, so renovation is vital. Potential renters are very particular about the appearance, size, and operational nature of kitchens. If you intend to put up your rooms to rent in the San Francisco Bay area, you may want to make the following changes to it:

Set up some new appliances if the old ones aren’t working well due to prolonged wear and tear.
Replace countertops with present-day ones. Granite is trendy and is recommended if you’re able to procure large quantities of it.
Replace the floors with attractive tiles if they’ve aged well and look shabby.
Complete the cabinet work or replace them.
Place a garbage disposal because it’s essential and less messy. It also involves less work when it comes to getting rid of all the accumulated garbage in the house.
Install a backsplash to make the kitchen look more trendy. It also prevents the area behind the sink from damage due to water that splashes on it while washing stuff.

In terms of kitchen renovation costs, they tend to shoot up at lightning speed, so choose the renovation areas wisely.

The kitchen, an integral part of the whole house, needs to undergo renovation from time to time. Source: Unsplash

As far as bathrooms are concerned, we spend a good deal of time in them, so renters will not like them unless they’re pleasant and comfortable. If you’re looking to rent out rooms in San Francisco, you may want to consider fixing these places before inviting potential renters. Therefore, it’s advised that you make the following upgrades in your bathrooms:

Remove and replace the tub and the shower if they look overused or old.
Remove and replace the toilets. Even if the rest of the house looks shabby and filthy, renters can still make their peace with it. But with a bathroom, you can’t take any chances.
Put up tiles on the bathroom floor that are more in line with today’s designs and patterns.
Remove and replace the sink, mirror, and bathroom cabinets or vanities with new ones.
Install new lights should they be required. Lights also enhance the look and feel of a room, whether it’s a bedroom or a bathroom.

In terms of the renovation costs for upgrading your bathroom, you’ll be happy to know that you’ll end up spending less than what you spend on the kitchen.

It’s important to renovate the bathroom space because we can’t stress its importance. Source: Pixabay

While we’re on the topic of renovating properties to rent out rooms in San Francisco, it’s important to add that the job’s not easy, and there may be a few hiccups during the process. It’s advisable to become familiar with what issues are likely to come your way:

Costs exceed budget: Costs are likely to exceed the budget you have in mind, so use the following tips to stay on track:
Ensure that everything you decide to renovate is in black and white, and go through it well.
Don’t put together all the jobs under one bracket. Break them up into smaller and doable components.
List all the items you need and their respective costs.
If a contractor is assigned the job, everything needs to be put down in writing.
Delays: Delays are a given for any kind of job. To ensure that things are on time, set expectations with contractors concerning the exact date of completion. Extract a financial penalty if they don’t manage within the stipulated timeline or replace them with another contractor. This is also applicable if contractors come in late regularly. Such concerns should be built into the contract.
Contractors quit midway: Brace yourself because you may have contractors leave a job right in the middle of it. As is the policy, always have a backup of contractors on your list who’re reachable and ready to work at any point in time. This will make your rental process easy.
Extra materials required: This is another hindrance that might delay the job a bit. The best course of action is to make a note of everything you believe you’ll need or possibly run out of before starting the renovation process.
Handling codes and inspections: The city codes department will need to get involved in the process if the renovations are predominantly large-scale; for instance, electrical plumbing, roofing, and additions fall under this category. The department takes ownership of handing over permits and ensures that all your work matches the current code. Call up the local codes department and find out what permits you need. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Materials go out of stock: If you foresee something like this happening and the materials are critical to the renovation process, it makes sense to buy a little extra for emergencies.
Unforeseen repairs come up: This is a challenging task and unavoidable when you rent out rooms. Two things can be done – one, add an extra 10 percent into your funds for such repairs, and two, hire a professional inspector to look over the property. After a thorough inspection, they can point out the exact issues that need to be addressed and share a report.

To sum up, if your property has rooms to rent out in San Francisco, take the time to refurbish them for a better renter experience, and then team up with a trusted roommate finder to find a quick, safe, and secure method of getting the perfect renter!